Well, as all seven of my readers recall, I proudly proclaimed that Catching Fire, along with Oblivion, is my most anticipated film of 2013.
For the uneducated or unaware, I want to introduce you to the word, "retraction." A retraction is in a newspaper or various other things to take something back. In this post, I have a retraction to make: Catching Fire is now my second most anticipated film of 2013 with Oblivion taking the stark, solid 1st place.
Now, I know what you're wondering. "Stephen, why the change of heart?" Well, this is what this trailer reaction is for. Now, if you think that I'm one of those guys who will give you the link to go see the trailer, go screw yourself! You guys have the internet. You guys have brain cells. Go to YouTube or IMDB or whatever and see it yourself. This is strictly to report my reaction to the newly-released trailer for Catching Fire. BT dubs, I love how the release of a trailer is, like, breaking news nowadays. On YouTube, I see at least three videos that say, like, "New Hunger Games Trailer! OMG!" It's as if One Direction was coming to their hometown or something. (If that was the case, by the way, gun sales would go through the roof.)
Anyway, I saw the trailer and the film looks...really good. The direction is competent, Jennifer Lawrence is as badass as ever, and the rebellion and chaos depicted in the book, which I am currently reading and I feel that it's better than the first book, is portrayed to a tee. HOWEVER! With that said, I do have a couple of quibbles with the film, based on the trailer.
Now, I want to make one thing perfectly clear: I am not expecting Catching Fire to be perfect. The Hunger Games wasn't and I don't believe this one will be either. Having said that, here are my issues with the film. First of all, Josh Hutcherson looks freaking asleep in the film. From the little bit I saw of him, it looks like he's saying, "Well, seeing how the Twilight film franchise is over, we need another lifeless, droning young actor to replace Robert Pattinson. And seeing how I am raking in the Benjamins from the first film and from that pointless Red Dawn remake (just barely), I guess I have to take that role."
My second and actually final quibble with the film is actually a huge one. It's the portrayal of the government. As I previously stated, I am currently reading the book. In the book, the President is angry at Katniss for her actions at the end of The Hunger Games that not only went against the government, but inspired rebellion from the other districts. One thing leads to another and, as axiomatic yet never entirely blatant punishment, all the previous victors are forced to go back into the Arena, meaning Katniss and Peeta must go, too.
My point is that the President is portrayed as frustrated with Katniss, but he's portrayed as a reasonable yet devilishly intimidating leader. How does the trailer portray him? Pretty much as a cartoon villian, along with some other bullcrap government official, played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who I don't remember in the book, at all. They're pretty much sneering dictators and their dialogue is idioticly candid. Some of it includes, "She has to be eliminated," "I agree she should die, but in the right way. The right time, "They're gonna hate her so much, they might just kill her for us. HAHAHA!!" and "Her entire species must be eradicated...because of her." Ugh!
OK, so they are trying to convey how awful the government is. A lot of science-fiction surrounding a utopia, or dystopia, or whatever the correct term is, provides us with some kind of social commentary or even satire. I get it, but why are they overdoing it?
In the book, the subdued execution of the President's anger added to the tension of the book. He pretty much warned her to make sure she can justify her actions or else something bad will happen. It's portrayed sincerely. I can believe it in the book. In the trailer, they seem to water it down for the most accessible and simplistic audience consumption. It's not realistic enough to appeal to fans of the book, but the film itself probably wouldn't appeal to anybody but people who have either read the books, seen the first film, or both. So who are they marketing it for?
To be fair, it is only the trailer and sometimes trailers can hide things or mislead audiences. The trailers for Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked make the film look like a apathetic, moronic, and vacuous waste of time that stays distant of the adoring fan base. However, I thought that film is one of my all-time favorite childrens' films. Yeah, I'm a fan. Hatas gon' hate!
So, maybe all my quibbles will be proven unjust. Maybe Josh Hutcherson won't be a walking zombie. Maybe the film's hiding something about the government aspect of it. Maybe I need to finish the goddamn book (definitely true). One can only hope that on November 22, audience members will give thanks to director Francis Lawrence, writer Michael Arndt, and, of course, Katniss! I hope the odds are in our favor.
Well, folks, that was my reaction to the Catching Fire trailer, which can now be viewed online on many websites. I wanna know what you guys think of the trailer. Does it do the book justice or does it send the book to prison? YOU be the judge! Go ahead. Voice your opinions! Later!
For the uneducated or unaware, I want to introduce you to the word, "retraction." A retraction is in a newspaper or various other things to take something back. In this post, I have a retraction to make: Catching Fire is now my second most anticipated film of 2013 with Oblivion taking the stark, solid 1st place.
Now, I know what you're wondering. "Stephen, why the change of heart?" Well, this is what this trailer reaction is for. Now, if you think that I'm one of those guys who will give you the link to go see the trailer, go screw yourself! You guys have the internet. You guys have brain cells. Go to YouTube or IMDB or whatever and see it yourself. This is strictly to report my reaction to the newly-released trailer for Catching Fire. BT dubs, I love how the release of a trailer is, like, breaking news nowadays. On YouTube, I see at least three videos that say, like, "New Hunger Games Trailer! OMG!" It's as if One Direction was coming to their hometown or something. (If that was the case, by the way, gun sales would go through the roof.)
Anyway, I saw the trailer and the film looks...really good. The direction is competent, Jennifer Lawrence is as badass as ever, and the rebellion and chaos depicted in the book, which I am currently reading and I feel that it's better than the first book, is portrayed to a tee. HOWEVER! With that said, I do have a couple of quibbles with the film, based on the trailer.
Now, I want to make one thing perfectly clear: I am not expecting Catching Fire to be perfect. The Hunger Games wasn't and I don't believe this one will be either. Having said that, here are my issues with the film. First of all, Josh Hutcherson looks freaking asleep in the film. From the little bit I saw of him, it looks like he's saying, "Well, seeing how the Twilight film franchise is over, we need another lifeless, droning young actor to replace Robert Pattinson. And seeing how I am raking in the Benjamins from the first film and from that pointless Red Dawn remake (just barely), I guess I have to take that role."
My second and actually final quibble with the film is actually a huge one. It's the portrayal of the government. As I previously stated, I am currently reading the book. In the book, the President is angry at Katniss for her actions at the end of The Hunger Games that not only went against the government, but inspired rebellion from the other districts. One thing leads to another and, as axiomatic yet never entirely blatant punishment, all the previous victors are forced to go back into the Arena, meaning Katniss and Peeta must go, too.
My point is that the President is portrayed as frustrated with Katniss, but he's portrayed as a reasonable yet devilishly intimidating leader. How does the trailer portray him? Pretty much as a cartoon villian, along with some other bullcrap government official, played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who I don't remember in the book, at all. They're pretty much sneering dictators and their dialogue is idioticly candid. Some of it includes, "She has to be eliminated," "I agree she should die, but in the right way. The right time, "They're gonna hate her so much, they might just kill her for us. HAHAHA!!" and "Her entire species must be eradicated...because of her." Ugh!
OK, so they are trying to convey how awful the government is. A lot of science-fiction surrounding a utopia, or dystopia, or whatever the correct term is, provides us with some kind of social commentary or even satire. I get it, but why are they overdoing it?
In the book, the subdued execution of the President's anger added to the tension of the book. He pretty much warned her to make sure she can justify her actions or else something bad will happen. It's portrayed sincerely. I can believe it in the book. In the trailer, they seem to water it down for the most accessible and simplistic audience consumption. It's not realistic enough to appeal to fans of the book, but the film itself probably wouldn't appeal to anybody but people who have either read the books, seen the first film, or both. So who are they marketing it for?
To be fair, it is only the trailer and sometimes trailers can hide things or mislead audiences. The trailers for Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked make the film look like a apathetic, moronic, and vacuous waste of time that stays distant of the adoring fan base. However, I thought that film is one of my all-time favorite childrens' films. Yeah, I'm a fan. Hatas gon' hate!
So, maybe all my quibbles will be proven unjust. Maybe Josh Hutcherson won't be a walking zombie. Maybe the film's hiding something about the government aspect of it. Maybe I need to finish the goddamn book (definitely true). One can only hope that on November 22, audience members will give thanks to director Francis Lawrence, writer Michael Arndt, and, of course, Katniss! I hope the odds are in our favor.
Well, folks, that was my reaction to the Catching Fire trailer, which can now be viewed online on many websites. I wanna know what you guys think of the trailer. Does it do the book justice or does it send the book to prison? YOU be the judge! Go ahead. Voice your opinions! Later!
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